It has been an active and sociable few days. On Thursday I had lunch with an ex-colleague and it was brilliant to catch up with her; on Friday a very long-standing friend and I did a walk along a cycle route from the city to the coast, passing over the downs to get there. My friend’s Keep Fit app showed that we had walked 12k and even better news, had burnt over 600 calories, but of course these all got used up on a substantial and delicious crab sandwich and a small glass of sauvignon blanc. We were talking so much we almost missed the sight of some early primroses. I always love seeing these, so understated and delicate in contrast to the cultivated yellow primula which poke you in the eye, while the wild ones blend creamily into the landscape and can be so easily missed.
Today I’ve been going through cupboards and drawers with my daughter, who will shortly be leaving the area and moving into a furnished flat. There is so much “stuff” I’ve been hoarding to give our kids a start when they move out so it’s been good to box up some towels and crockery to pass on. I think back to how we had so little when we started and how we’ve built it up over the years, and now we are on the downward trajectory, decluttering and wanting to make the best possible use of what is there, rather than just binning it. I have a real problem with the modern attitude of the disposability of everything, because we are just leaving behind us so much rubbish and the problem of how to remove it,.
It’s interesting to think about what the weekend means when you’re retired. I remember talking to my parents in-law when they were both retired and I asked them what they were planning for the weekend. Their response was that there is no distinction between the weekdays and the weekend and they tended to go out more during the week while everyone else was at work or at school. Because my husband is still working the weekend is still significant for us, and I treat the weekdays as working days; working being cleaning, cooking, shopping, while the weekends are still for leisure and treats.
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